


A Sweet Attempt

by Altraya



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Childhood Friends, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 18:36:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9620177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Altraya/pseuds/Altraya
Summary: 12y/o Ignis isn’t sure how to help Noctis’s depression, but a spark of interest he sees from the child prince gives him a start. (Happy Birthday, Iggy! A bit of character study/history to recognize and thank him for all the care he's given to Noctis over the years)





	

Sitting alone at the oversized table, the young Prince Noctis poked at his dinner with a total lack of enthusiasm. Carefully picking peas out of the dish one by one and pushing them aside, he had hardly taken any actual bites of food. At his side stood Ignis, twelve years old and watching the boy with the concern of a parent etched on his face. Leaning forward just into view, he smoothed out his frown and kept his voice gentle as he asked, "What is the matter, Highness? Is it not to your liking?"

"Too many peas."

"There's so much gravy on your plate, I doubt you could even taste them, so-."

"I can taste them. They're gross."

"...Alright." Sighing quietly, he straightened up and continued to watch with a surprising amount of patience. A few minutes later and only a tiny handful of bites had been taken. Someone entered the dining area and whispered a few things to Ignis before leaving the two alone in the dining room once more. Giving Noctis another moment, Ignis leaned forward once more, "The King has been busy with the war council all day, and he will be until late into the night. That's why he couldn't make it."

"...Yeah."

"He asked the kitchen to prepare something special, though. Perhaps it will be more to your liking than dinner..."

"Yeah. Maybe."

It was painful how quiet the boy had become since his injury two years prior. Or was it fleeing from Tenebrae that had left its bitter mark on him? Either way, in spite of his age, Ignis had been caring for Noctis for a long time, and he used to be a much livelier and more talkative child. Little seemed to excite him anymore, though, and Ignis hoped that whatever was sent in from the kitchen might alleviate that melancholy, if only for a moment.

Somehow, that small wish came true.

A servant brought in a plate with a small puffed pastry, and Noctis' eyes lit up when he saw it, and he pushed his dinner plate away without hesitation. Ignis nodded to the woman who had brought in the dessert, and she took away the barely eaten meal to leave the prince with his sweet. The relief Ignis had felt moments earlier was soon fleeting. Noctis cut into the pastry with his fork and immediately the boy wilted.

Frowning with concern and curiosity, Ignis looked at him as he stared bitterly at the dessert. "Highness? What's the matter?"

"...Nothing," he answered softly, and loaded a bite onto his fork, blowing on the steaming food before taking that bite.

"It seems you were expecting something else. What was it?"

He cut off another bite, and it wasn't until he had swallowed that one and cut a third that he finally answered. "...Luna. In Tenebrae. There was this dessert she shared with me... It was like this, small, in a shell... But the shell wasn't as..." he scraped at the top layer of the dessert, watching it shred apart as he tried to think of what word was used to describe it.

"Flaky?"

"Yeah. And the filling was different... Mm... This is too sweet. And tart..."

Looking closely at the pastry, Ignis hummed softly to himself, "I think that's raspberry."

"Mm."

"So you don't know what the dessert was called?"

"No."

"Or what filled it?"

"No."

"I see. That's a shame."

"...Yeah."

Later that evening, Ignis sat on his bed with his tablelamp on, reading carefully over a cookbook on baking. With such a lackluster description on the dessert, it would take a lot to find out what might fill it, but perhaps he could start by learning the proper type of pastry to cook it in. If it would make the young prince smile again, it would be worth it.

With Noctis sleeping in most mornings, Ignis did a lot of his experimenting in the morning at first, and as he did, he found himself enjoying the time in the kitchen. It was months of practicing and experimenting later, and on one of those many nights that the King was late in meetings, Ignis took it upon himself to cook dinner for his charge, inviting the prince to watch him in the kitchen.

From a seat across the room, Noctis played a game on his phone instead of watching Ignis cook, though his expression retained that constant bored neutrality. Ignis sighed softly, but he didn't push it. If Noctis wasn't interested in watching, he was at least there keeping him company, and that alone was a good start. They both lost track of the time that passed by until dinner was served, and Noctis finally put his phone away.

Looking at the meal set before him, the prince poked at it with his fork, finding nothing immediately offensive about the beef dish. The only vegetables on his plate were potatoes it seemed as well, which were fine by him. He took a bite, all under Ignis' careful watch, and while his expression still never changed, he went in for that second bite, which was all that Ignis needed to know that he had done well. Relaxing, he ate right there across from the prince, possibly the first time they had actually dined together, even after so many years.

"...It's good," Noctis finally admitted after he finished half of his dish and set it aside.

Ignis smiled gratefully, "Thank you. I have dessert in the oven, as well, if you still have room."

"...There's always room for dessert."

Laughing softly at the statement, it was good to see Noctis acting as the child he was. "I'm trying to see if I can recreate that dessert you mentioned. You'll have to tell me how close it is."

"...Alright."

Somehow it only took asking once and Noctis got up from the table to help Ignis clean up, which seemed if anything to show that his mood was lifting, even if it didn't show on his face. Though he was also very good at schooling his features, anyone that knew him well enough could see how happy Ignis was just then at the small successes he'd had that evening. The dessert was sadly nowhere close, but the prince still ate the whole thing. At the end, he slipped out of his seat, phone in hand and looking at game notifications for a moment before he returned his attention to Ignis.

"Thanks, Ignis..."

"It was my pleasure, Highness," he answered sincerely.

Noctis mustered up a small smile and nodded. "I'm going to bed now. Night."

"Goodnight, Highness..."

After Noctis had left the room, Ignis felt a weight fall from his shoulders, and he sagged with relief. Pulling his glasses away, he rubbed at the corners of his eyes, having felt his vision going misty. It was the first time he had seen Noctis smile in years.

It was a good day.


End file.
